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Delphi MyFi XM2GO Portable XM Satellite Radio Receiver with Home / Car Kits
See it at Amazon.com for $209.00Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
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Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
good way to get XM Radio but not a replacement for MP3 players
(4 out of 5) by Rob Houser on Jan 6, 2006 (Suwanee, GA USA)I'm going to give my review of the XM2go a qualified thumbs up. Here's a few things to think about before buying the XM2go.
WHAT IT IS:
XM2go is a handheld receiver for XM radio, which is a subscription-based satellite radio service. (The competing service is called Sirius and does not work with this device.) The XM2go package comes with the equipment to use the radio in your car, at home, or on-the-go. Basically, the XM2go is a replacement for your radio with more channels to choose from, fewer commercials, and a very basic recording capability.
It will cost you some dough for the subscription (currently between nine and twelve dollars a month depending on how long you sign up). For the lowest rate, you're paying for three years in advance (three times the cost of the XM2go device). However, you will get a lot of audio content for that investment.
WHAT IT IS NOT:
The XM2go is NOT an MP3 player. It's still basically a radio with more channels and fewer commercials (not always commercial free). You can't put your own MP3 files on the device. And there's nothing built in to let you export audio from your XM2go to an MP3 or digital format that you could listen to later on another device. If you currently listen to the radio a lot, then you'll like the XM2go. If there's content on XM Radio that you can't get elsewhere, then you'll like XM2go.
WHAT IT IS ALMOST:
The XM2go is ALMOST like a Tivo-for-the-radio. The XM2go doesn't constantly record what's playing so you can't pause it or rewind it like the Tivo does for TV. However, you can press record and listen to what comes after that moment at a later time. The recordings list the individual songs recorded (cool feature), so you can skip around when you listen to them. Unfortunately, you cannot tell the XM2go to save a particular recorded song. When the device runs out of room for recording, it starts overwriting what was recorded previously.
The best technique I've come up with so far is to record a channel you like for a couple of hours, then listen to that channel later so you can skip the songs you don't like and pause the audio when you're interrupted. Of course, this requires advanced planning and you can't really record your favorite 8 channels and then skip around between them like you probably will do when you listen to XM Radio live. You can program two scheduled recordings, either for recurring recording or one-time recording.
WHAT ELSE YOU GET:
When you activate your XM2go, you'll also get access to the XM Radio web site, so you can listen to XM Radio through your computer. At first, this doesn't seem so amazing since you can already listen to radio stations for free over the internet, but if you combine this with streaming audio recording software you may discover a new way to capture MP3 files for your MP3 player. They may try to prevent this in the future, but you could still connect your XM2go to your computer's audio input and capture the audio that way.
The XM Radio web site does have some additional information about some of the channel schedules (not all).
SURPRISES (TO ME):
Because XM Radio is a satellite service, the XM2go package includes A LOT of wires. Even when you just carry around the device, there's a long clip-on antenna you need to use to get good reception. I've had pretty good reception in the suburbs of Atlanta; however, in my house and at work I do have to use the indoor antenna they supply and extend the wire 10-15 feet closer to a window. On one really stormy day last week, I couldn't keep a signal. Overall, I've had enough bars to listen without the signal dropping. I've mostly listened in stationary places because...
When I called to activate my service (Christmas 2005), a recording told me not to use the battery because they were all being voluntarily recalled/replaced due to safety concerns. Unfortunately, they can't tell you when you'll get your battery and they tell you that you can't return the XM2go because of the battery recall. This means I've had my XM2go for 3 weeks now and I can't use it without a plug. There's nobody to contact to find out when I'll get a battery; the recorded message just says they'll put you on the list AFTER you activate your service.
Also, the car set up requires the installation of an antenna in the car, which comes with the XM2go package but will look pretty ugly unless I get it professionally installed. Also, I switch between two cars all the time, so I'm not sure how that's going to work yet. Will try to update this review if I have any bad experiences with the car moving around.
PROS:
* The XM2go is easy to figure out and use. The documentation is well written.
* Has a button to memorize up to 20 artist/song names (not the songs) so you can press it when you discover new music that you like.
* Has a watch list for up to 20 artists or songs that will cause the XM2go to beep when one of those artists or songs is playing on another channel. (Would be even cooler if it could switch to the channel and record it automatically.)
* The built-in XM transmitter is cool. You can play the XM2go through any radio without additional wires.
* I like that I can record up to 5 hours of audio. Just wish I had more scheduling capabilities, more automatic recording features, and ability to save recorded tracks.
CONS:
* Requires an antenna to get reception. The XM2go comes with antennae for walking around, car, and home/office, but you have to keep up with them all.
* The ear buds are horrible. They're too big and don't sound very good. No big deal, but it's another expense after spending a lot to get the XM2go and XM Radio service.
* Can't put your own MP3 files on the device or easily extract any recorded sounds from the device.
CHANGES I'D LIKE TO SEE IN XM2GO:
* There needs to be an on-going recording of the audio being played and an ability to save a song that you've been listening to in a list of favorites.
* You should be able to load and listen to your own MP3 files on the XM2go.
* Ideally, you would be able to export songs from the XM2go as MP3 files to listen to later (but they'll surely never do that).
CHANGES I'D LIKE TO SEE IN XM RADIO:
* XM Radio needs to have all of the public radio content: All Things Considered, Marketplace, Fresh Aire. The public radio channel that they have does not have as much good stuff as your local public radio station. I've been a little disappointed with the talk radio part of XM Radio, mostly because it's hard to find specific programs.
* By the time I see a song or artist that I want to hear on the play list, I've already missed the first part of the song. There needs to be more of a preview of what songs are coming up for each channel so you can go to a channel to wait for a song you know is coming up. I'd like to see a view that toggles between seeing the current song, the next song, and the next 3 songs on each channel.
* Hook this baby up to MyYahoo content and then I'll really be keeping up with news, investments, movie schedules, etc.
SUGGESTION:
If you haven't used XM Radio before, try subscribing to the web site for a month or two to see if you like the channels. There are a lot of channels, but you won't like them all. I find that I mostly listen to 8-12 channels, although I'm still exploring. I'm not saying that's a bad thing-just don't think you're going to get 200 channels of your favorite music or talk shows. After you know you like the service, then invest in the XM2go.
CONCLUSION:
After my second week with the XM2go, I started to panic and think I should have bought an Ipod. The overall investment is about the same (I got the three year XM Radio service). However, in week three, I decided the XM Radio was giving me access to a lot of content that allows me to explore more music and I figured out how I could record some of that music to listen to again on my MP3 player, although this will require additional work on my part. In the near future, the XM Radio devices will have to merge with MP3 player technology. For now, XM2go is good enough to get me plugged in to the XM Radio service, but it doesn't start to replace my MP3 player.
WHAT IT IS:
XM2go is a handheld receiver for XM radio, which is a subscription-based satellite radio service. (The competing service is called Sirius and does not work with this device.) The XM2go package comes with the equipment to use the radio in your car, at home, or on-the-go. Basically, the XM2go is a replacement for your radio with more channels to choose from, fewer commercials, and a very basic recording capability.
It will cost you some dough for the subscription (currently between nine and twelve dollars a month depending on how long you sign up). For the lowest rate, you're paying for three years in advance (three times the cost of the XM2go device). However, you will get a lot of audio content for that investment.
WHAT IT IS NOT:
The XM2go is NOT an MP3 player. It's still basically a radio with more channels and fewer commercials (not always commercial free). You can't put your own MP3 files on the device. And there's nothing built in to let you export audio from your XM2go to an MP3 or digital format that you could listen to later on another device. If you currently listen to the radio a lot, then you'll like the XM2go. If there's content on XM Radio that you can't get elsewhere, then you'll like XM2go.
WHAT IT IS ALMOST:
The XM2go is ALMOST like a Tivo-for-the-radio. The XM2go doesn't constantly record what's playing so you can't pause it or rewind it like the Tivo does for TV. However, you can press record and listen to what comes after that moment at a later time. The recordings list the individual songs recorded (cool feature), so you can skip around when you listen to them. Unfortunately, you cannot tell the XM2go to save a particular recorded song. When the device runs out of room for recording, it starts overwriting what was recorded previously.
The best technique I've come up with so far is to record a channel you like for a couple of hours, then listen to that channel later so you can skip the songs you don't like and pause the audio when you're interrupted. Of course, this requires advanced planning and you can't really record your favorite 8 channels and then skip around between them like you probably will do when you listen to XM Radio live. You can program two scheduled recordings, either for recurring recording or one-time recording.
WHAT ELSE YOU GET:
When you activate your XM2go, you'll also get access to the XM Radio web site, so you can listen to XM Radio through your computer. At first, this doesn't seem so amazing since you can already listen to radio stations for free over the internet, but if you combine this with streaming audio recording software you may discover a new way to capture MP3 files for your MP3 player. They may try to prevent this in the future, but you could still connect your XM2go to your computer's audio input and capture the audio that way.
The XM Radio web site does have some additional information about some of the channel schedules (not all).
SURPRISES (TO ME):
Because XM Radio is a satellite service, the XM2go package includes A LOT of wires. Even when you just carry around the device, there's a long clip-on antenna you need to use to get good reception. I've had pretty good reception in the suburbs of Atlanta; however, in my house and at work I do have to use the indoor antenna they supply and extend the wire 10-15 feet closer to a window. On one really stormy day last week, I couldn't keep a signal. Overall, I've had enough bars to listen without the signal dropping. I've mostly listened in stationary places because...
When I called to activate my service (Christmas 2005), a recording told me not to use the battery because they were all being voluntarily recalled/replaced due to safety concerns. Unfortunately, they can't tell you when you'll get your battery and they tell you that you can't return the XM2go because of the battery recall. This means I've had my XM2go for 3 weeks now and I can't use it without a plug. There's nobody to contact to find out when I'll get a battery; the recorded message just says they'll put you on the list AFTER you activate your service.
Also, the car set up requires the installation of an antenna in the car, which comes with the XM2go package but will look pretty ugly unless I get it professionally installed. Also, I switch between two cars all the time, so I'm not sure how that's going to work yet. Will try to update this review if I have any bad experiences with the car moving around.
PROS:
* The XM2go is easy to figure out and use. The documentation is well written.
* Has a button to memorize up to 20 artist/song names (not the songs) so you can press it when you discover new music that you like.
* Has a watch list for up to 20 artists or songs that will cause the XM2go to beep when one of those artists or songs is playing on another channel. (Would be even cooler if it could switch to the channel and record it automatically.)
* The built-in XM transmitter is cool. You can play the XM2go through any radio without additional wires.
* I like that I can record up to 5 hours of audio. Just wish I had more scheduling capabilities, more automatic recording features, and ability to save recorded tracks.
CONS:
* Requires an antenna to get reception. The XM2go comes with antennae for walking around, car, and home/office, but you have to keep up with them all.
* The ear buds are horrible. They're too big and don't sound very good. No big deal, but it's another expense after spending a lot to get the XM2go and XM Radio service.
* Can't put your own MP3 files on the device or easily extract any recorded sounds from the device.
CHANGES I'D LIKE TO SEE IN XM2GO:
* There needs to be an on-going recording of the audio being played and an ability to save a song that you've been listening to in a list of favorites.
* You should be able to load and listen to your own MP3 files on the XM2go.
* Ideally, you would be able to export songs from the XM2go as MP3 files to listen to later (but they'll surely never do that).
CHANGES I'D LIKE TO SEE IN XM RADIO:
* XM Radio needs to have all of the public radio content: All Things Considered, Marketplace, Fresh Aire. The public radio channel that they have does not have as much good stuff as your local public radio station. I've been a little disappointed with the talk radio part of XM Radio, mostly because it's hard to find specific programs.
* By the time I see a song or artist that I want to hear on the play list, I've already missed the first part of the song. There needs to be more of a preview of what songs are coming up for each channel so you can go to a channel to wait for a song you know is coming up. I'd like to see a view that toggles between seeing the current song, the next song, and the next 3 songs on each channel.
* Hook this baby up to MyYahoo content and then I'll really be keeping up with news, investments, movie schedules, etc.
SUGGESTION:
If you haven't used XM Radio before, try subscribing to the web site for a month or two to see if you like the channels. There are a lot of channels, but you won't like them all. I find that I mostly listen to 8-12 channels, although I'm still exploring. I'm not saying that's a bad thing-just don't think you're going to get 200 channels of your favorite music or talk shows. After you know you like the service, then invest in the XM2go.
CONCLUSION:
After my second week with the XM2go, I started to panic and think I should have bought an Ipod. The overall investment is about the same (I got the three year XM Radio service). However, in week three, I decided the XM Radio was giving me access to a lot of content that allows me to explore more music and I figured out how I could record some of that music to listen to again on my MP3 player, although this will require additional work on my part. In the near future, the XM Radio devices will have to merge with MP3 player technology. For now, XM2go is good enough to get me plugged in to the XM Radio service, but it doesn't start to replace my MP3 player.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
MY Oh MyFi
(4 out of 5) by J. SPIEGEL on Dec 10, 2005 (Los Angeles, CA United States)I've had the MyFi since January 05 and like it a lot. It's not perfect but I haven't had the reliability issues of some of the writers. I had it semi-permenantly mounted to my car's dash. The cradle is attached to a beacket attached to my dash. So I can remove it to hide it or use it at home. I hardly listen to anything else but XM now, but that's a review of the service not the unit. The faults I find with the unit itself are:
It's display is hard to see under many conditions.
The buttons are small and not intuitive.
It sometimes reverts to channel 1 on power-up.
Overall I'm happy, but it could have been a better design. I guess I'm lucky mine works!
It's display is hard to see under many conditions.
The buttons are small and not intuitive.
It sometimes reverts to channel 1 on power-up.
Overall I'm happy, but it could have been a better design. I guess I'm lucky mine works!
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Great idea, will only improve with time
(4 out of 5) by R. Padilla on Mar 9, 2005 (Los Angeles, CA United States)I decided to join the XM radio bandwagon when they announced the baseball programming. The portable MyFi seemed like the best idea because I can use it at home, in the car and at work. For several weeks I debated whether to buy it or not, wondering how the reception would work. I read reviews over various websites and none convinced me. A few days ago I finally decided I had to make a decision, so I bought it.
Pros:
I am extremely happy with the content of XM radio and with the player itself, I listen to it at home, at work and in the car. The reception holds up very well, even when I have not installed the car antenna. XM has transmitters throughout major cities to guarantee you get service.
Cons:
I do lose the signal in pockets here and there, but for the most part it's great. Other users said using the car antenna (or getting it professionally installed) will improve reception to almost 100%.
You will also lose reception when you walk inside buildings and are away from a window or door.
The truth is that the product is not perfect, but it very good and worth the money. The $350 includes all the adapters and antennas you will need (so you can't do a straight comparison on price to the other players).
I highly recommend this product, don't dwell on the drawbacks, concentrate on the flexibility it gives you.
Pros:
I am extremely happy with the content of XM radio and with the player itself, I listen to it at home, at work and in the car. The reception holds up very well, even when I have not installed the car antenna. XM has transmitters throughout major cities to guarantee you get service.
Cons:
I do lose the signal in pockets here and there, but for the most part it's great. Other users said using the car antenna (or getting it professionally installed) will improve reception to almost 100%.
You will also lose reception when you walk inside buildings and are away from a window or door.
The truth is that the product is not perfect, but it very good and worth the money. The $350 includes all the adapters and antennas you will need (so you can't do a straight comparison on price to the other players).
I highly recommend this product, don't dwell on the drawbacks, concentrate on the flexibility it gives you.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
satellite radio demystified
(5 out of 5) by Aaron CCity on Jan 3, 2005 (Grand Rapids, MI)I have been using the Delphi MyFi now for a few weeks on and off and have found it a huge step forward in satellite radio technology.
I will first clear up a few misconceptions of this unit:
1. Using the MyFi outside, may require the attached antenna, and the unit's antenna must have a clear view of the MAJORITY of the sky.
2. The unit will not work inside gyms, airports, houses and other buildings unless an antenna has a clear view of the sky.
3. Depending on where in the US you are located and if by chance there are ground repeaters (towers that rebroadcast the signal to areas that do not get good signal) you may have to have the antenna face a certain direction for good signal.
4. The antenna on the car kit must be on the very top of the car to get good reception (recommend professional installation for best results in the car)
Now that those are out of the way, I have to say that the MyFi is unbelievably sweet. It has 5 hours of recording time so you can get all of your favorite xm content for later use. It comes packaged with the universal car kit which allows you to connect it using the cassette adapter or use the wireless fm modulator built into the Myfi its self. The home kit is also provided to you giving you RCA connections to link to your home receiver, or you can still use the wireless fm modulator to listen to it on any radio. A small remote control is included, along with decent ear bud headphones and the wearable antenna. The price tag seems a bit high but it is actually a great deal when you compare to the next best satellite radio the Delphi Skyfi 2:
SkyFi 2: Receiver with remote 129.99 MSRP + car kit 69.99 MSRP + home kit 69.99 MSRP = a total of 269.97 MSRP
MyFi: Receiver with remote, car kit, home kit, and wearable antenna = a total cost of 349.99 MSRP
a total cost difference of only 80.02 MSRP, and for 80.02 your getting 5 hour record time instead of 30 minutes, your getting the ability to be completely portable... unlike the SkyFi2 which must be plugged into the car kit or home kit to work, also the MyFi menu system is better.
To those who say
I will first clear up a few misconceptions of this unit:
1. Using the MyFi outside, may require the attached antenna, and the unit's antenna must have a clear view of the MAJORITY of the sky.
2. The unit will not work inside gyms, airports, houses and other buildings unless an antenna has a clear view of the sky.
3. Depending on where in the US you are located and if by chance there are ground repeaters (towers that rebroadcast the signal to areas that do not get good signal) you may have to have the antenna face a certain direction for good signal.
4. The antenna on the car kit must be on the very top of the car to get good reception (recommend professional installation for best results in the car)
Now that those are out of the way, I have to say that the MyFi is unbelievably sweet. It has 5 hours of recording time so you can get all of your favorite xm content for later use. It comes packaged with the universal car kit which allows you to connect it using the cassette adapter or use the wireless fm modulator built into the Myfi its self. The home kit is also provided to you giving you RCA connections to link to your home receiver, or you can still use the wireless fm modulator to listen to it on any radio. A small remote control is included, along with decent ear bud headphones and the wearable antenna. The price tag seems a bit high but it is actually a great deal when you compare to the next best satellite radio the Delphi Skyfi 2:
SkyFi 2: Receiver with remote 129.99 MSRP + car kit 69.99 MSRP + home kit 69.99 MSRP = a total of 269.97 MSRP
MyFi: Receiver with remote, car kit, home kit, and wearable antenna = a total cost of 349.99 MSRP
a total cost difference of only 80.02 MSRP, and for 80.02 your getting 5 hour record time instead of 30 minutes, your getting the ability to be completely portable... unlike the SkyFi2 which must be plugged into the car kit or home kit to work, also the MyFi menu system is better.
To those who say
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
Portable XM satellite radio is HERE!!!
(5 out of 5) by S. Sutton on Dec 17, 2004 (Seattle, WA)I've had mine now for a little over 2 weeks. I love it. It is a great all around product that I use in my car and can bring with me to the gym. I live in an area with good ground repeater coverage and can walk all around outside without any drop-outs. I cannot receive reception in the gym but that is what the 5+ hr recording feature is for. Every couple of days I record a fresh, new 5hr block of music/content. I have plenty of music, talk, etc. to listen to while I workout. And let me tell you it sure beats listening to the stuff my gym pipes through it's speakers!!
At first the MyFi does seem pricey, but when you consider you get everything for the car, home and get the portability with NOTHING else to buy, it isn't a bad price.
Ok, you so you are probably wanting to know how it compares to the iPod. First of all they are 2 completely different products.....for now. The mini-iPod is $250 and that is without ANY accesories. It comes without ANY songs on it. Say you max out the song capacity and put $1,000 ($1 a song) into it. You have now spent $1250 on the player. This content will get old and you will want to replace at least some of it with fresh material...it's an endless $$ cycle.
The MyFi for now can only hold a little over 5 hrs of music, but remember this is the 1st generation player. It is only going to increase at a rapid rate, while the size of the unit gets smaller and lighter. The next MyFi just might have a full 1G of storage or more. I also like how the MyFi can list all of your favorite sports teams scores (and of course my favorite stock ticker XMSR). It has a really nice screen display with 6 lines of text. The buttons are all well placed and it is very easy to use. EVERYONE I have shown the MyFi to has loved it. They hold it in their hand and say, "Wow, this is really cool".
Of course there are a few drawbacks on the device. Mainly not being able to delete separate song tracks. You can only delete sessions (there are 2 session blocks) You can fast-foward by song track and listen as many times as you want. But overall it is a breakthrough device that is going to change the way we all listen to content and receive data. When I think about all the possibilities now for portability it really is amazing. All the future cell phones, PDA's, Blackberrys, etc. out there will have to have sat radio built-in to compete on features.
By the way, I upgraded from a Roady2. I wanted the portability for taking it to the gym, traveling (plane). I used to have a Mp3 player but I got tired of always downloading new music to it. Once the RIAA started cracking down on P2P it just wasn't worth it.
The FM modulator in the MyFi works better than the Roady2. I can definitely tell the difference in the sound quality in my car. With the Roady2, certain stations (especially BoneYard) sounded kinda of dry and muffled. With the MyFi ALL the channels now sound equally good. Even the talk channels sound has improved. My only complaint of the Roady2 was the 2 line limit display. That drove me nuts hitting the "display" button all the time to see all the song info. With the MyFi I can see ALL the song information AND while the stock ticker scrolls at the bottom....at the SAME time!!
At first the MyFi does seem pricey, but when you consider you get everything for the car, home and get the portability with NOTHING else to buy, it isn't a bad price.
Ok, you so you are probably wanting to know how it compares to the iPod. First of all they are 2 completely different products.....for now. The mini-iPod is $250 and that is without ANY accesories. It comes without ANY songs on it. Say you max out the song capacity and put $1,000 ($1 a song) into it. You have now spent $1250 on the player. This content will get old and you will want to replace at least some of it with fresh material...it's an endless $$ cycle.
The MyFi for now can only hold a little over 5 hrs of music, but remember this is the 1st generation player. It is only going to increase at a rapid rate, while the size of the unit gets smaller and lighter. The next MyFi just might have a full 1G of storage or more. I also like how the MyFi can list all of your favorite sports teams scores (and of course my favorite stock ticker XMSR). It has a really nice screen display with 6 lines of text. The buttons are all well placed and it is very easy to use. EVERYONE I have shown the MyFi to has loved it. They hold it in their hand and say, "Wow, this is really cool".
Of course there are a few drawbacks on the device. Mainly not being able to delete separate song tracks. You can only delete sessions (there are 2 session blocks) You can fast-foward by song track and listen as many times as you want. But overall it is a breakthrough device that is going to change the way we all listen to content and receive data. When I think about all the possibilities now for portability it really is amazing. All the future cell phones, PDA's, Blackberrys, etc. out there will have to have sat radio built-in to compete on features.
By the way, I upgraded from a Roady2. I wanted the portability for taking it to the gym, traveling (plane). I used to have a Mp3 player but I got tired of always downloading new music to it. Once the RIAA started cracking down on P2P it just wasn't worth it.
The FM modulator in the MyFi works better than the Roady2. I can definitely tell the difference in the sound quality in my car. With the Roady2, certain stations (especially BoneYard) sounded kinda of dry and muffled. With the MyFi ALL the channels now sound equally good. Even the talk channels sound has improved. My only complaint of the Roady2 was the 2 line limit display. That drove me nuts hitting the "display" button all the time to see all the song info. With the MyFi I can see ALL the song information AND while the stock ticker scrolls at the bottom....at the SAME time!!